Posted on 03/15/2005 9:21:42 AM PST by hmmmmmmmmmmm
MIAMI-DADE
Family: Police victim bipolar
The shooting of Cesar Rada by a Miami-Dade police officer was the department's 17th shooting since 1999 involving a mentally ill person
Cesar Rada -- aspiring actor and model, and a psychology student at Florida International University -- had bipolar disorder and was schizophrenic, his family says.
Sunday night, he had his hands raised and was unarmed as he walked toward a Miami-Dade police officer who killed him during a tense confrontation in a Kendall yard, police and witnesses said.
The officer, Jeffrey Price, 23, was placed on administrative leave Monday while Miami-Dade's internal affairs and homicide units and the state attorney's office investigate the department's 17th shooting involving a mentally ill resident since 1999.
Augusto Rada, 60, said that Cesar, 31, began a downward spiral on Friday, culminating in a family member calling police because they could not control Cesar, a stocky, muscular man at 5 feet 10 inches tall who dabbled in bodybuilding.
Still, Augusto Rada maintains the shooting was not necessary.
He said Cesar walked slowly with both hands in the air to within two or three feet of the officer, who had his gun drawn. Cesar kept saying, ''What are you going to do, shoot me?'' said his father, who witnessed the incident.
''The police were completely at fault,'' Augusto Rada said. 'They don't think any other way. I said, `Why did you kill him?' The policeman froze.''
KEY QUESTION
Why Rada was shot to death is at the forefront of the police investigation.
''He was unarmed,'' police spokesman Randy Rossman said. ``He was shot multiple times by Officer Price and he died on the scene.''
Rossman said Price, on the force for 18 months, was not equipped with a Taser, a 50,000-volt stun gun that incapacitates a suspect, because he had not received the training yet. He did carry an expandable baton but did not use it.
Price's police union attorney, Mike Cornely, went to the Rada house after the shooting, but said he didn't get to speak with Price directly before his client was taken to see a department psychologist. Price's personnel records were not released Monday.
Cornely said he heard Price was backed into a corner by Rada, until he ``felt [Rada] was going to overpower him and he had no other reasonable alternative.''
Police have had several run-ins with Rada.
Department spokeswoman Nelda Fonticiella said that since 2001, officers have answered at least 11 domestic disturbance calls involving Rada at the family home at 8950 SW 56th Ter.
County records show his only arrest was in July 1998 for presenting a fake drug prescription. As a first-time offender, he completed a pretrial intervention program and has no felony record.
Rada's death is the 17th documented shooting of a mentally ill resident by Miami-Dade police in the past six years, according to records kept by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Steven Leifman, who heads the court's mental health committee.
Two years ago, Miami-Dade police were criticized after two mentally ill men were shot dead within a week. One allegedly was holding a knife, the other was threatening police with a shard of glass.
County Mayor Carlos Alvarez, then the police director, had every officer in the department undergo 16 hours of training on how to deal with the mentally ill.
MORE TRAINING
That changed after the shooting of Randy Baker last October. Under the guidance of Leifman, Miami-Dade has begun giving its officers more intensive Crisis Intervention Team training. At least 165 field training officers will become first responders in dealing with the mentally ill by this summer.
CIT is a federally funded program that involves 40 hours of teaching at Jackson Memorial Hospital. The training has been effective in Miami, where despite more than 3,000 calls a year, no mentally ill resident has been shot since 2001.
In January, a Miami-Dade grand jury report called on lawmakers to reverse decades of failed policies toward the mentally ill, listing dozens of recommendations for the criminal justice system.
One of the strongest recommendations was that police continue to use Tasers to subdue volatile suspects. ''It saves lives!'' the report said.
Augusto Rada said that after his son became exceedingly aggressive on Friday, he sent his wife to stay with relatives.
''I could see it in his eyes,'' he said, adding that his son hadn't had such an ''episode'' since December 2003.
The father said Cesar had run out of medication before the weekend and was scheduled to see his doctor today to refill his prescriptions, including the antianxiety pill Temazepam. He said his son took three other pills a day.
Off the drugs, Cesar's rage was so intense that his father, his older brother Carlos and a brother-in-law couldn't control him and decided to call police Sunday night.
'He kept saying, `Leave me alone.' He told his brother to get away or 'I'll kill you,' '' Augusto Rada said.
When two police officers arrived at the Rada residence, they asked Cesar to come toward them several times, according to Augusto Rada.
Cesar did, with his arms raised. He got within a few feet before Price fired at least three times, hitting Cesar in the upper chest and throat area, his father said.
Rose and Raul Garcia have been the Radas' neighbors for six years. Raul said he ran outside after hearing gunshots.
''It's not uncommon to see [Cesar] get upset,'' Garcia said. ``Usually, they just call the police and they take him to the hospital.''
Trying to re-create the scene Monday, Augusto Rada began to sob uncontrollably as he stood in front of a poinciana tree in the front yard where he said Cesar was shot.
''He had nothing, no weapon,'' the father said. ``How could they do this?''
Welcome to FR.
Interesting screen name.
I don't buy the family's story. It sounds like a lot of after the fact hystrionics and embellishment.
"17th shooting since 1999 involving a mentally ill person Cesar Rada"
You think after being shot for 16th time, Cesar would've filed a complaint. "Look, choo guys has been shooting me for like the last six years....no mas"
Lets Tatoo Mental Status on people's foreheads, so when cops see a guy coming after them looking real crazy. Cops can think before shooting, "NUTS on forehead" leave him alone, it is ok for him to come at me with a hammer, he is nuts.
They left out the part as to whether or not Price commanded him to halt and the guy did have an aggressive physical history. Coin toss until all facts are in.
Well, which one is it? These are two different animals.
Bi-Polar seems to be appearing more and more often lately. It excuses violence in men and being a whore in women.
Here we have a family scared crapless with a violent son , They call the cops and cant understand why a cop would be frightened enough to shoot the same guy that had them
scared.
The story here isnt very clear on what happened when he closed with the officer.
I thought this crazy screen name looked familiar.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1357748/posts?page=27#27
I pinged the kitties to his other thread on March 7th.
The officer MAY have been defending himself.
Looks like we need a double-secret IP check!
"You don't shoot Mongo, that'll only make him mad"
Looks like he chopped off a few m's from the earlier version. :)
Although I'm still unable to ping him from memory.
Maybe they should wear a sign. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
*************
Note to self-arrange to refill medication before I run out.
Oooh, ooh, call on me. I know this one.
These historical figures are believed to have been bipolar. They did not have the benefit of modern medications and yet avoided being shot by the police...
Abraham Lincoln
Winston Churchill
Theodore Roosevelt
Goethe
Balzac
Handel
Schumann
Berlioz
Tolstoy
Virginia Woolf
Hemingway
Beethoven
Newton
Dickens
2 to 3 feet is too close to let anyone get, while facing You.
Care to comment on your post?
I do. The article says,
"culminating in a family member calling police because they could not control Cesar..."
"...Off the drugs, Cesar's rage was so intense that his father, his older brother Carlos and a brother-in-law couldn't control him and decided to call police Sunday night."
Been there, done that with my bi-polar son, albeit with a much less harmful result. I now trust 911 and the police about as far as I can throw a grand piano.
Cordially
This just in... Atlanta suspect overpowers police officer, kills 3 people. Film at 11.
"Mentally ill" does not mean "harmless."
Mental illness doesn't have anything to do with it in the end. If a police officer feels a person is a danger to the officers or private citizens, they have the duty to take that person down. It is not the duty of police officers to first determine if that dangerou person has a mental illness.
Again: A body builder, chronic psychotic, off his 4 (four) medications, police called by family 12 times for this hombre's violence, yelling and threatening, refusing to stop coming toward the cop when ordered repeatedly to stop, two feet from the officer screaming......
And you are blaming the officer for stopping this assault?
I ask this question in all sincerity, would not a shot in the knee have taken this man down? I'm not a police officer (nor have I ever played one on tv---LOL)....but I have often wondered if shooting with intent to kill, rather than crippling, is the action most often recommended? Is the chest simply the most reliable target (due to size etc)?
``He was shot multiple times by Officer Price and he died on the scene.''
It's like the old adage - if it's worth shooting once, it's worth shooting twice.
Once the officer had drawn on Cesar the onus is on Cesar to comply no matter what. By approaching in a threating manner, the officer would be justified in firing - thinking he is about to be disarmed by a physically stronger person. If you draw on someone you are committing to firing if necessary.
The alternative ending is officer doesn't fire, Cesar takes the gun shoots officer, dad, and himself...
Hmmmmmmmmmmm.Well, I guess it's an h followed by eleven m's. :^)
Welcome to FreeRepublic....
As far as the story goes - it just doesn't ring true. There were witnesses. It's hard to believe that the police would have shot down a suspect/perp who was following directions with his hands raised and presenting no danger. (not saying it couldn't happen, just don't think it did in this case).
I really want to be compassionate regarding those with mental disorders - but on the other hand, if someone presents a clear danger to others and/or the police - action must be taken.
Let us see what the results of the investigation are. I think a tazer might have helped, but the officer was basically defending himself and was assaulted.
Thanks, LOL!
maybe next time, hmmmmmmmmmmm, you could just put a (h x 11) or something in your tagline. ;)
:^D
This family kept calling the police over and over on their violent creep of a son, until a lawsuit finally was generated.
My girlfriend is a rapid cycling manic-depressive. She hasn't shot anyone....... yet. (well, there was one day I thought....)
What "assault"?
There was, as you have noted, a history involving this person - a history in which the police had repeatedly taken him to the hospital without shooting him to death. I presume that the police should be aware of their own history in dealing with the guy.
I will stipulate that the police have the absolute right to defend themselves, but because of my own experience I no longer automatically give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their description of events. In our case I was shocked that they repeatedly told outright lies to us on the scene, and I was shocked at their erroneous reports about what had transpired.
I think what may have happened in this case is that the young, inexperienced police officer over-reacted to a perceived threat by using lethal force. There has to be a better way to subdue someone like the victim and get him to a hospital where he can be confined, which is why the 911 call was made in the first place.
Cordially,
Does the possiblity occur to you that the father was asking for HELP in subduing his son?
Cordially,
I do take issue with the witness who implies that simply because the victim was not armed meant he was harmless and posed no threat to the officer's safety. His own words lead me to believe that the victim approached the officer in a threatening manner
In psychiatric hosptials, body builders and other large people are considered to have a constant lethal weapon, their bodies. And they are handled and medicated accordingly.
Also, to add a comment to other things mentioned in earlier posts, Some are saying the father set this up for a lawsuit? You are some sick individuals if you thinking the father wanted to have his son killed for money is motive. I am actually more afraid of that line of thinking than the cops that shot him.
He is now going to have to file a civil suit that will probably go on for at least 5 years, and even if he does win, We all know most of the money is going to attorney fee's and appeals. If he wanted money, it is alot easier to get some life insurance and then have him killed. No lawsuit to go through, just some insurnace investigator.
You'd be institutionalizing all the university drama departments and most of the psychology departments in the country if you did that!
;-)
Gee, I don't know. Maybe because the first three didn't work?
By the way. Free Republic has had a history of first time posters who claim they know the victim or people associated with the articles in the past. I really don't care if you know the victim or not. It doesn't give you any more insight into the matter unless you were there.
POSTED: 11:59 am EST March 15, 2005
MIAMI -- The family of a man killed by a police officer says that the mentally ill 31-year-old was off medication and was having a manic episode.
Officer Jeffrey Price, 24, shot and killed Cesar Rada, a psychology student and aspiring actor on Sunday night at his home on Southwest 59th Terrace near 89th Avenue.
Cesar's family said he was bipolar. His father, Augusto Rada, said he has had to call police in the past for trouble with his mentally ill son.
Augusto Rada said Caeser Rada was agitated but unarmed when the officer arrived at the home on Southwest 59th Terrace near 89th Avenue. Police had been called after a family argument had become violent, according to witnesses.
A witness said that Caeser Rada said, "Shoot me. Shoot me," as he walked toward Price, who had pulled his service revolver. The witness said Rada kept walking toward the officer until Price's gun was against his chest.
Price then shot Rada three times.
Rada's father and other witnesses said he was not armed.
According to police spokesman, Joey Giordano, Price and his partner did not have Taser guns with them because they had not been trained yet on how to use them. But both officers completed a course on dealing with the mentally ill, Giordano said.
Giordano also said, "When lethal force is necessary, a Taser would not be implemented."
Now the question that homicide investigators will be trying to answer is whether lethal force was needed.
Cesar Rada's family says the actor was mentally ill, but was unarmed when he was shot and killed
MIAMI-DADE POLICE
County manager wants answers on cop training
After police shot and killed a mentally ill man, the Miami-Dade County manager asked about training procedures and a timeline for distributing stun guns to the force.
BY TERE FIGUERAS NEGRETE
tfigueras@herald.com
Calling the recent police shooting of an unarmed, schizophrenic Kendall man ''tragic and unfortunate,'' Miami-Dade County Manager George Burgess is asking county police to outline how they will train officers to deal with the mentally ill -- and to speed distribution of stun guns.
The police department, which already had planned to put more officers through intensive ''Crisis Intervention Team'' training before Sunday night's shooting, is expected to report back to Burgess by week's end.
On Sunday, Officer Jeffrey Price, 23, shot and killed Cesar Rada, 31, after Rada's relatives called police to help control the troubled man -- bringing extra emphasis to the need for more training.
''Every effort must be made to further equip our officers with the training and tools needed to address these types of situations before they escalate,'' Burgess wrote in a memo to Police Director Robert Parker.
''We were already looking at ways to increase the program, but this put more urgency to it,'' said County Judge Steven Leifman, head of the 11th Judicial Circuit Criminal Mental Health Project, which runs the CIT training through Jackson Memorial Hospital.
The department plans to more than double the number of officers required to complete the training by July -- from 165 to 358, Leifman said.
About 60 Miami-Dade police officers already have had the federally funded CIT training, which teaches officers how recognize and respond to the mentally ill.
Rada's death is the 17th recorded shooting of a mentally ill person by Miami-Dade police since 1999.
Rada, a 31-year-old psychology major at Florida International University, suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, his family said.
When Rada went into a rage Sunday, a relative called police. The shooting occurred after a tense confrontation.
Price, the officer, was placed on administrative leave while the state attorney's office investigates -- standard practice following policeinvolved shootings.
Price was not equipped with a Taser, a stun gun that mental health advocates have credited as providing law enforcement with a nonlethal option in dealing with the mentally ill.
The department had been criticized in recent years for not embracing the CIT program, which has seen considerable success in the city of Miami. There, police officers have responded to 7,200 calls involving mentally ill patients during the past year without firing a shot.
Leifman credited Parker for making the program a priority after the October shooting of a mentally ill West Perrine man. But police training is only a partial solution to a much larger problem, said Leifman: Dealing with the overall issues of the mentally ill -- not just when they come into contact with the criminal justice system.
''It's a societal problem, not just a police problem,'' said Leifman. ``It's incumbent upon our community as a whole to work on a solution.''
Source: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/11155552.htm
By Ihosvani Rodriguez Miami Bureau Posted March 15 2005
The Miami-Dade Police Department is again under fire for the way its officers respond to calls involving the mentally ill, this time after the fatal shooting Sunday of an unarmed mentally ill Florida International University student.
Police shot Cesar Rada, 31, a psychology student and aspiring actor and model from west Miami-Dade, at least three times late Sunday in front of his home after his father called police to say his son was having a manic episode. Rada, who his family said had a bipolar disorder, was killed in front of his father and brother. Both said they warned police about Rada's mental problems before the shooting.
"I kept telling them, `Don't hurt him! Don't hurt him! He's ill," said the father, Augusto Rada, who wept uncontrollably on Monday. "But they still killed him. They killed my son."
Police identified Patrol Officer Jeffrey Price, 24, as the shooter
Price, who has been with the department two years, has not given investigators a statement of what occurred as of late Monday. Police officials released few details.
Price and his partner went to Rada's house about 8 p.m. Sunday to break up a violent dispute between family members after his uncle called police. Price confronted Rada outside the home and pulled out his service pistol as Rada began walking toward him aggressively, police said.
Rada's father said his son put his hands up and continued walking toward the officer shouting, "What? You going to shoot me? Go ahead, shoot me!" Augusto Rada said he heard gunshots when his son was about three feet away from the officer. The elder Rada said he tried to jump in between the two men to protect his son.
"I fell and thought I got shot too," he recalled. "I jumped on top of my son and I looked down. I knew they killed him right there."
Rada was shot in the chest and neck area, his father said.
Rada's brother, Carlos, said he warned Price that his brother was mentally ill and was off his medications and his uncle told a police dispatcher that they were trying to calm Rada down from his rage. Police spokesman Joey Giordano said Price and his partner did not carry Taser stun guns because neither had gone through the training. Giordano said both officers completed a course to deal with the mentally ill. A police homicide is justified if the officer felt he needed to use deadly force, Giordano said.
This shooting marked the second time in less than a year that a Miami-Dade Police officer killed a mentally ill person. Police shot and killed a 49-year-old mentally ill man from Perrine last October after he beat an officer with her baton. The man's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against police and the county.
Civic leaders and mental health advocates have long criticized the department for not following the steps taken by other departments, including Miami Police, by adopting a special response team that deals with the mentally ill.
Ihosvani Rodriguez can be reached at ijrodriguez@sun-sentinel.com or 305-810-5005.
KENDALL
Dade officer told man to halt before shooting, witnesses say
A Miami-Dade police officer gave ground before fatally shooting an agitated, mentally ill man who kept advancing at him, witnesses said.
BY CHARLES RABIN
crabin@herald.com
Before Miami-Dade police Officer Jeffrey Price shot his gun Sunday night for the first time in his 18-month career, he backed up several feet and told a mentally ill man to stop coming at him, witnesses said.
When Cesar Rada -- who had his arms raised and was taunting the officer -- got to within two or three feet, Price killed the unarmed 31-year-old Kendall resident who family members say was bipolar and schizophrenic.
Miami-Dade police say an officer is trained to escalate his or her response to confrontations according to a threat matrix. If the threat is deemed aggravated -- defined as overt, hostile attacking movements, with or without a weapon, with the intent and ability to cause death or great bodily harm -- then deadly force may be used.
Officers are taught to fire into the largest center of mass possible, usually the upper chest area. Rada's father, Augusto, said his son was shot three times in the upper chest and neck area.
But use of deadly force is not called for if someone is acting physically aggressive, defined as hostile action that may cause injury but not death or serious bodily harm.
In that situation, officers can try to incapacitate the subject with a nonlethal weapon, such as a baton or stun gun. In Rada's case, Price had a baton but was not equipped with a stun gun.
''It's a split-second decision by an officer,'' said police spokesman Randy Rossman, who would not speak directly to the Rada case. ``The use-of-force report goes all the way to the chief to determine if the use of force was appropriate.''
Rada, an aspiring actor and model, was killed outside the family home, 8950 SW 56th Ter., after the confrontation with Price.
OUT OF MEDICINE
According to Augusto Rada, his son began acting more aggressively than usual on Friday, when the father learned Cesar was out of medication. Cesar's rage escalated through the weekend.
By Sunday night, Augusto Rada said he, Cesar's brother Carlos and a brother-in-law were unable to control the burly 5-foot-10-inch weight lifter.
Carlos Rada called 911. When police arrived, Cesar Rada became more enraged and approached Price, according to family members.
Augusto Rada said Tuesday that police were told in the 911 call and again when officers arrived that Cesar was mentally ill. He expected Price to subdue him without harming him, like officers had done in the past. Police said they have been called at least 11 times to the Rada home since 2001.
After the shooting, Price was consoled by his own father before leaving to see a police psychiatrist. Steve Price, who rushed to the scene after learning of the shooting, is a veteran of more than 20 years on Miami-Dade's police force who currently works in the communications division.
Jeffrey Price's personnel record contains some commendations and no disciplinary action since he became a sworn officer in July 2003. He received a diploma in July 2003 from St. Petersburg College Florida Regional Policing Institute for taking 16 hours of ``managing encounters with the mentally ill.''
Price was part of a two-man patrol Sunday night. None of the witnesses could recall where the other officer, who has not been identified, was at the time of the shooting.
NO DISCLOSURES
The Herald requested copies of the 911 call and the incident report, but police declined, saying both are part of an ongoing investigation by the department and the state attorney's office.
Price's attorney, C. Michael Cornely, said he talked extensively with his client for the first time on Tuesday, but agreed to a request by homicide detectives not to speak publicly until Price gives a statement on the shooting, perhaps by the end of the week.
BACK AT WORK
Cornely expects Price to be back at work by Thursday, though possibly at a desk job until the investigation is completed.
Ralph Patino, the Rada family's attorney, said he was likely to file a wrongful-death lawsuit by Monday.
''In all fairness to Miami-Dade County police, I'm obliged to investigate to make sure there is a cause of action for excessive force,'' Patino said.
Tuesday afternoon, Augusto Rada was at home surrounded by family members who had flown in from California, New York and New Jersey.
His wife, Rita, who fainted after learning of her son's death, was resting at Carlos Rada's home.
A viewing for Cesar Rada is scheduled for noon today at Caballero Rivero Woodlawn Cemetery and Funeral Home, 8200 SW 40th St.
He will be buried at 2 p.m. Thursday, also at Woodlawn.
Source: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/11145779.htm
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.